Today is Super Bowl day, or "Big Game" day as Nintendo of America is calling it, and a massive TV audience will be tuning in to watch and, we suspect in many cases of those watching their one and only NFL game of the year, wondering what the heck is going on. It's not just a game of American Football, its a merchandising, advertising behemoth which happens to have a match associated with it. Here's hoping the game's a good'un, anyway.

For its part NoA is offering unique jersey designs to 10 lucky sweepstakes winners that watch the game using TVii on the Wii U. The app will allow users to interact and make predictions during the game, but the Super Bowl area will also have a contest entry for this random draw. The rules are below, including those for Nintendo fans that aren't necessarily in the Wii U club but feel like going to the trouble of sending a postcard. Yep, some contests still use postcards.

(1) Entry through Nintendo TVii. To enter, follow these steps: (i) launch Nintendo TVii from the Home Menu of the Wii U GamePad controller, (ii) tune in to the Big Game by tapping the tune in shortcut or Sports icon on the main screen of Nintendo TVii, (iii) tap the “Play” icon on the left side of the screen, (iv) during the Sweepstakes Period, click on the yellow banner on either the Activity or Leaderboard screen to accept the Official Rules and enter your Nintendo Network ID into the Sweepstakes, and (v) use your Wii U GamePad controller to play along during the Big Game in the Nintendo TVii application. Once you begin to play along during the Big Game, you will automatically be entered into the Sweepstakes.

(2) Free Entry by Postcard. To enter without having a Nintendo Network ID, without a Wii U console, and without playing along during the Big Game in the Nintendo TVii application, hand print your (i) first and last name, (ii) email address, (iii) mailing address, and (iv) phone number (optional) on a postcard approximately three and a half by five inches (3.5" x 5") in size and mail it to: Nintendo of America Inc., Attn. Nintendo TVii Sweepstakes Entry, PO Box 957, Redmond, WA 98073, USA. Unless you have already subscribed to receive communications from Nintendo, the email address, mailing address and phone number you provide will be used only for purposes of the Sweepstakes. All postcard entries must be postmarked no later than Monday, February 3, 2014 and received by Sponsor by Wednesday, February 12, 2014 to be eligible for the Sweepstakes.

Only entries in the U.S. and Canada are eligible, though Japan is the only other region aside from North America to actually have TVii, in any case.

Will you be watching to Super Bowl today, and do you plan to enjoy it using TVii? Share that and your predictions in the comments below.

I'm kind of into this game so don't know how much I'll be using the TVii feature while it's on - it never even dawned on me to use it before reading this article - but it might be interesting to read the comments about the commercials. Probably more comments about those than the actual game. I wonder if the Gamepad battery will last the whole game? Probably not. Might be alot of comments complaining about that during the 4th quarter

@Unca_Lz Well, watch (or read) "League of Denial" and nothing will surprise you about this league.

Money quote: "Do you know the ramifications (of this concussion research)? ...If %10 percent of mothers believe football is dangerous... It's all over.". Go watch the movie for the context, it's diabolical, mind-boggling stuff. A good watch, too. As a parent it's appalling that the NFL would want to prevent mothers, of all people, from making the best decisions for their childrens' livelihood. Why? To protect the skill of the game? The reality is that you are probably far more likely to have concussion issues after playing youth football than ever being compensated for those skills.

EDIT: I should probably note that as a once amateur MMA fighter, now occasional corner man, who quickly quit after watching several guys consistently KO'd in training... And some of them enduring brutal consequences... This is a real prevalent issue for me on many levels. Witnessing so many concussions, I can tell if someone is unconscious from a mile away, even on TV. To regularly notice players out cold, and still re-entering games (Percy Harvin, recently for the Seahawks) is appalling. (Fortunately the only time I've ever been KO'd was by my former bi-polar step-sister, who threw me through a glass window for tossing a Nerf ball against the wall while she was babysitting me. I was 10...)

That said, I'm familiar with a sport where concussions are a legitimate goal. While most fighters are compensated with shells and clams... And refs who protect fighters are ripped for early stoppages... But the science of head trauma is startlingly sparse. For example, there is evidence that numerous, regular sub-concussive blows (those actually encouraged by head protection) may be a leading contributor to future complications.

One thing is certain, you cannot argue with the insane percentage of ex-NFL brains tested vs. being diagnosed with CTE (something like 45/46, last time I heard), nor the shameful level of denial exhibited by the NFL over several decades.

The TVii function is great with NFL games and I honestly think it makes great use of the game pad and gives you something Playstation and Microsoft can't. The way it works is it will ask you statistical type questions throughout the game and keep score of how many you got right or wrong at the top. The questions are usually based on how many yards you will think a certain player will get, turnovers, tackles, first downs, if the team will score or punt on this possession, ect. There is also a timer of about 10 seconds because the game is live and that makes it even better. I found this to be very entertaining because half of the time you're watching a game you are making your own predictions in your mind anyway. This is a must for NFL fans and anyone who is not will still find entertainment value in this. My wife and I just wan't to know who's adding the questions because they are very tuned in and ask great questions.

@remlapgamer That's clever, but they should integrate fantasy football. Fantasy team stat tracking for one, but what I really mean is to attempt a league-like feature where you can pick your top performers in a week, compete with others, and be compensated in some way (download codes, maybe). It's not an easy thing to implement, but there are so many fantasy football addicts who are completely lost once they aren't competitive in a league. They need just such an outlet and the GamePad provides a pitch perfect interface.

If they want TVii to catch on at all, NOA needs to try something like this. There are many innovative ways with which to leverage the GamePad to improve the spectator experience.

I've tried to watch the Super Bowl the last few years, but just find the sport itself a bit dull. I know how big it is on TV over there though, so I hope Nintendo throws some ads out during it. A sizzle reel of Wii U games is perfect for this kind of mainstream audience.

@Peach64Super Bowl commercials are very expensive. There is no way Nintendo, a company that almost never advertises, would put a super bowl ad. I also don't think people who watch the super bowl are Nintendo's best demo.

@King47 Ah right. I didn't know they were that expensive. I thought pretty much everyone in the States watched it though, so seems like it would be perfect. I have a friend that is from LA, and she gets annoyed because over here TV doesn't have anywhere near as many ad breaks, so she went to watch it last year and then turned it off because all the ads were missing. From what she said, people watch it JUST for the ads. Baffling to me! Haha

@Peach64Many people who watch it watch it for the ads and just to go to the parties. The half time show is also a big factor. I don't know if you were seeing what we were seeing here before the big game, but many companies are advertising their super bowl ads. It's the most watched TV event of the year, so the ads are insanely expensive, though I can't tell you exactly how much.

I personally don't bother, the game is about 3 to 4 hours long with the breaks, and it is very discontinuous and boring. If I want to see ads, I will watch them on Hulu later. The game keeps stopping and resuming, it's annoying and I actually don't care about it. But most of the people who watch it are bros and dudes, and others that accompany them for the parties. If Nintendo is to advertise there, they have to make something really funny or witty, and I don't seem them doing that.

@King47 Nintendo hasn't come out with a good commercial in years. They have to get a new ad agency. Also I care about the game but only to see which fanbase I should avoid trash talking to for the next few months (Dolphins fan that will never see a Super Bowl berth in my lifetime).

@King47@Peach64 it's like a cool 3-4 million for a 30 second spot. I don't see Nintendo spending that kind of coin. Besides XBox One is the official console of the NFL. I wonder how much clout they have in locking out their competitors for ad time? Lol

I always forget that the TVii app is there. So this gives me a chance to use it today. The couple times I used it this NFL season I found the app stream is behind the live stream, which was annoying enough for me to not use it anymore.

EDIT: It looks as if like I'm not going to get on today, let alone get to enter the contest. The TVii app is having network issues. It appears everyone is trying to get on today! Haha

I have to say I find what you say about most of the people who watch the Super Bowl as bros and dudes quite insulting. Almost everyone I know watches football in general and the SB and are HUGE Nintendo fans/gamers in general. I myself am a comic book nerd/D&D player/Warhammer player/ etc. Aswell as a die hard Minnesota Vikings fan. Football is a game that has fans of all walks of life not just "bros and dudes". You know how many people I saw on FB share the article NL put up about the Broncos player playing Pokemon? It's not cool to assume things about fans of anything. Nintendo fans should above all know this from experience as we hate being generalized as kids and casual gamers

@Captain_Gonru I'll admit ignorance of the business specifics, but what about teaming with something small like Fanduel.com? That's one meager example, but I'm sure any startup service would jump at the chance to work with Nintendo on a system or concept.

I suppose the problem/caveat is that any fan could simply use the browser to access the actual websites, but that would be the benefit for such a partnering company. Work under contract to produce a free service for Nintendo fans to win points cards and/or download codes, then potentially funnel a percent towards your full service. Win-win, no?

Though can you believe I'm a huge Packers fan AND a huge Vikings fan? Yeah, I know... It blows all sorts of minds. Living smack-dab on the border will do that, though. It's like, I'm expossed to Vikings 24-7 (I even leave KFAN on all day long) - no point in dismissing them, right? But I grew up in a strict On Wisconsin sort of fashion... Can't turn on the Pack, either.

Actually I'm primarily a Minnesota sports fan. (Love those... T-Wolves... And those... Nort... Sta... err, Wild... Twins piss me off after they built the new stadium, but they were my first favorite team. In '89, of course.)

Anyway, I'm a big fan and all that. Sports are the first games. I love all sports and all game genres (maybe not MMOs, so much, for unique reasons). If you appreciate game design, in any form, I question how you could not at least respect the other.

@SuperiorYoshi87 Agreed, I may not watch it religiously but I like the NFL quite a lot, I watch it when I can and I am as much as a bro/dude guy as I am king of the universe. The Super Bowl is an annual meeting between my father and I and we watch the whole game, which I may understand why some people not like it but it is anything but boring, lots of strategy and fast paced action everytime they try to advance/defend, it is an amazing sport.

Anyway what I meant to say is not to lump NFL aficionados with the bro/dude crowd, is just as demeaning as lumping every Nintendo fan with the kids/casuals/whatever else you may find as insult crowd.

I don't understand the TVii service. Is the image of the field supposed to display player locations? I'm not seeing anything, and the text is stuck on the first play of the game. The clock won't update either.

@ACK Boxing gloves have made boxing insanely deadly, as bare buckle fighters won't punch the head.Pro wrestling has cut out head shots, but it did take one guy who ended up with severe brain damage snap and murder his family and kill himself - if NFL aren't careful, there could be 30 of these cases in the next decade.

@JQuest zero clout. Anyone can advertise... The only time an ad was rejected to my knowledge was that VW ad where a terrorist blows himself up inside the car.... That ad was going to air 4 months after 9/11 and the NFL pulled it.

@Peach64 the reason why there is a lot of non-NFL fans watching the Super Bowl just for the ads because companies are dumping 3 or 4 million dollars on a 30 second spot, so when they have this massive 100 million person audience they try to out do other companies buying advertising. The funniest commercials are usually talked about by everyone the next day.. So companies are vying to have their commercial/product talked about post game.

I entered as well. It was my first time using TVii for the sports functions it's capable of. It was definitely fun and unique but at time was frustrating due to the lag times I got. There were times that a question popped up and I was unable to vote because it said the question had timed out just as soon as I received it. This may have had something to do with the fact that my Wii U doesn't have a wired connection but rather on a wifi network...

I was reading the rules, and saw that if any Canadians win, they have to answer a "Math question" over the phone in order to be eligible! That is very odd, but I suppose the Canadians have a reason for it! I will have to look that up.